Luke Campbell set for hotly anticipated return on stacked bill

Luke Campbell will return to the ring after a five month absence next weekend when he faces Craig Woodruff at the Echo Arena in Liverpool during a stacked night of boxing, and the Olympic gold medallist says he cannot wait to resume his professional career.

The 26-year-old took time off from the ring for family reasons but after a spell away from the sport he says he is now ready to add to his perfect 5-0 record in the paid ranks when he faces his Welsh opponent on July 12.

The pair will fight over a six round distance and the Hull bantamweight, who won gold at London 2012 and has produced four stoppages during his five pro fights since, says he has a lot of frustration to unleash on his opponent.

“The break has given me a good opportunity to spend time with my family and I have always been in the gym ticking over and working on certain things. Now everything is steady and good, everybody in the family wants to see me back in the ring and doing what I do best," said Campbell.

“I have always been in the gym and I am in the gym every day, but the time out has given me the opportunity to be in the gym and spend some time with my family and not having to worry or think about anything else, and that is what I have been doing.

“I have the full support of my family behind me and they want to see me in the ring, they want to see me doing what I do best and everything is good.

“I am looking for is a good performance from myself, and one which the fans will enjoy as well. My opponent is in the hands of my team and although I found out late I did some late prep.”

The southpaw has boxed in his hometown, Manchester and London during his career so far and he now takes his talents to Liverpool to close an impressive first season for him as a pro, assuming all goes to plan.

His 21-year-old opponent, Woodruff, has only contested eight fights in total and he has lost three of them, including a knock-out against Martin Joseph Ward last time out.

He will do well to last the distance with the highly rated Campbell, who has also stated that he is looking forward to performing alongside two of his former Team GB teammates and good friends next weekend.

“It’s great to be on the same bill as Anthony Joshua and Anthony Ogogo. It is going to feel like a tournament like the ones we used to box at together, being there and supporting each other.

"I still see them quite regularly, Joshua probably the most, but we still all see each other and keep in contact because we are all good friends.

“It is interesting as we are all taking this next journey together, so we are all egging each other on and being there for each other when we can be.

“I have boxed at the Echo Arena a couple of times. I won European Championship gold there and I won the Great Britain Championships there as well.

"I have good memories of Liverpool and I have always put in good performances there, so I want to keep that going next weekend.”

Campbell’s eagerly anticipated return will be on a stacked bill which features Tony Bellew vs Julio Cesar Dos Santos and Nathan Cleverly vs Alejandro Valori, as the pair contest their second bouts at cruiserweight and continue on their path towards a bitter rematch.

There will be no fewer than eight live fights on the night as Sky Sports and Matchroom serve up a treat that also includes the heavyweight bout between Joshua and Matt Skelton.

Rocky Fielding faces Noe Gonzalez Alcoba for the WBA inter-continental super middleweight title, Callum Smith defends his WBC international super middleweight title against Vladine Biosse and his older brother Stephen keeps busy in an eight-round clash as he prepares to fight for a World title in the new season.

Unbeaten Liverpool featherweight John Quigley is in his 13th fight on the undercard also, which is completed by former Team GB member Gamal Yafai and unbeaten Cambridge lightweight Tommy Martin, who has recently inked a deal with Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom stable.

DISCLAIMER: This article has been written by a member of the GiveMeSport Writing Academy and does not represent the views of GiveMeSport.com or SportsNewMedia. The views and opinions expressed are solely that of the author credited at the top of this article. GiveMeSport.com and SportsNewMedia do not take any responsibility for the content of its contributors.

Do YOU want to write for GiveMeSport? Get started today by signing-up and submitting an article HERE: http://gms.to/writeforgms

Report author of article

DISCLAIMER

This article has been written by a member of the GiveMeSport Writing Academy and does not represent the views of
GiveMeSport.com or SportsNewMedia. The views and opinions expressed are solely that of the author credited at the top of this article.
GiveMeSport.com and SportsNewMedia do not take any responsibility for the content of its contributors.

Want more content like this?

Like our GiveMeSport Facebook Page and you will get this directly to you.